The guy at my LHBS said that I should not remove the flip mechanism from my Grolsh bottles or else the cap might not close properly afterwards. I have a few bottles which mechanism doesn't work properly for some reason. Can I remove and reinstall the locking mechanism or should I discard those bottles?

Also, I was wondering if I can put my beer back at room temp (for a few days or weeks) once it has been lagered, or if it must stay in the fridge.

Finally, I saw in the Mr.Beer forums that the new popular rule is now 3-3-3 instead of 2-2-2. What do you think of it? I currently have a Prince Ludwig fermenting... Should I stick with 2-2-2 or go 3-3-3?

You may be able to get a new cap for the bottles without having to get rid of them. If they're actual Grolsch beer bottles (I've seen some people just refer to swing top bottles as Grolsch) then I would just pick up a new 4 pack or three and enjoy the emptying process.

Depending on the style, most SHOULD be done fermenting after 2weeks. If you know what FG should be a hydrometer reading will help. In my experience an extra week of carbonation is usually helpful. I usually go 2/3/2 as a general rule, but it's more art than science

Basic rule...the more complex/added fermentables your brew has,the longer it'll take to acheive fruition. Then you have to account for how well your yeast reacts to your wort. I have 2 batches in the carboys-one is a Bock which follows the more complex example(Bock is a style of Lager) and will go longer. The other one had a slow start before the yeast engaged(krausen took 2-3 days to appear)so that batch may take longer for that reason. Some batches can go 2-2-2 but for better results an extra week here and/or there depending on what your making will go a long way towards a good brew!

to expound, you can buy new bales and gaskets for your flip top bottles. the guy at the LHBS is wrong, taking them off and putting them (or new ones) on wont cause problems.

even if there was a problem putting them back on, you can cap some flip top bottles just like regular ones. you just need a capper and caps

2-2-2 is a good start but my rule of thumb is 2-3-2. I find 3 weeks carbing gives a much more even carbonation rate throughout the batch and seems to eliminate any carbing issues. The first 2 in 2-2-2 is the key, don't bottle until a hydrometer check is the same 2 days in a row and don't even start checking until you get close to 2 weeks in the fermenter. checking before that is a waste of beer in my opinion.

Thank you for your answers. Also, I just realized that my basement was at arount 17 Celsius (roughly 62 Fahrenheit), which is pretty cold... Do you think my yeast had enough heat to ferment my beer? I guess I should definitely leave it for 3 weeks then and leave the room at 20 degrees (68 Fahrenheit), don't you agree?

How To VideosNew to brewing? The following videos will help you make sense of your new hobby. The videos will walk you through every step of the process—from sanitizing to bottling and everything in between.